Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has denied allegations of bribery and abuse of office while testifying before a London court, insisting she never solicited or accepted bribes.
Alison-Madueke began her defence at Southwark Crown Court, where she is facing six counts under the UK Bribery Act.
The former Shell executive is accused of receiving financial benefits from several oil businessmen in exchange for favourable treatment in oil contract awards.
Testifying before the jury, she maintained that she acted lawfully throughout her tenure.
“I did not abuse my office at all. I did not ask, seek or solicit bribes. I always acted in good faith and sought to ensure fairness and balance in decision-making,” she told the court.
She acknowledged staying at properties in London provided by associates and confirmed that some of her flight arrangements were funded by business associates.
However, she insisted that such expenses were either reimbursed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) or handled as private logistical arrangements beyond her direct responsibility.
Alison-Madueke argued that as petroleum minister, her responsibilities were largely policy-related, while operational decisions on oil contracts were handled by the NNPC and its committees.
“The minister’s role is policy. Operational decisions are handled by the NNPC. The minister only signs off after recommendations have been made. The minister is not involved in the decision-making process,” she said, describing her role as largely formal.
Prosecutors, however, maintain that accepting benefits from businessmen connected to contract awards amounts to corruption under UK law.
Addressing cultural practices, Alison-Madueke told the court that gift-giving and professional support were common in Nigerian society and should be viewed within that context.
“We tend to operate as each other’s keepers,” she said, adding that assistance among professional networks was not unusual.
One of the major allegations involves a reported £100,000 cash delivery to her London residence in July 2012 by a driver linked to an oil businessman. She denied any knowledge of the money.
“It was not mine, and I only became aware of it through disclosure in these proceedings,” she said.
She also criticised what she described as weak financial controls in the NNPC’s London office, which she said led to reliance on informal payment arrangements. She added that missing official documents, including ministerial diaries, could have supported her account of official reimbursements and activities.
Alison-Madueke further told the court that she faced sustained political pressure ahead of Nigeria’s 2015 elections and had been warned she might be made a scapegoat.
She said copies of key documents she kept were later seized during a search of her Abuja residence by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in 2015.
Providing background on her career, Alison-Madueke said she was born in Port Harcourt in 1960, studied abroad, and later joined Shell, where she rose to become one of the company’s first Nigerian female executive directors before entering government in 2007.
Her testimony is expected to continue, followed by cross-examination by prosecutors. The trial is expected to conclude by the end of May.
